The Phillies signed their Rule 5 success to an extension

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The Rule 5 draft is rarely a place where teams find significant talent. Maybe a reliever here and a spot starter there, but key contributors don’t come up too often. Johan Santana is always pointed to as the kind of exception you can occasionally find if a team is willing to go through some growing pains and use up a roster spot, and he’s without peer in this regard given the health of his arm is all that might keep him from Cooperstown. Add another useful player to the list of successful Rule 5 stories, though, thanks to the Phillies and Odubel Herrera, who just signed a five-year extension worth $30.5 million guaranteed.

The Phillies drafted Herrera away from the Rangers in the 2014 Rule 5 draft and made him a starting center fielder. What was fascinating about that is Herrera’s outfield history: he had only 11 starts in the outfield in the minors in his career to that point, and all in left. The Phillies weren’t expecting to compete in 2014, though, and here was a chance to try out a player they thought could be something. Herrera batted .297/.344/.418, good for a 111 OPS+, and the Phillies had turned nothing into something.

Herrera was the 27th-ranked prospect in the Rangers system after 2011. He was the 12th-ranked prospect in the much emptier Phillies system following his Rule 5 selection three years later: Herrera had improved his own stock as well, but the Rangers weren’t able to protect him largely because they had so many other prospects to shield from the Rule 5. Texas’ loss is Philadelphia’s gain, and now Herrera has gone from a fringe roster piece to a centerpiece who has been paid to continue doing what he’s done so far.